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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27451615">A song of dreams and wishes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merukuri/pseuds/Merukuri'>Merukuri</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(and honestly who doesn't?), Fluff, M/M, and leona wants him to sing for him, i also make reference to another old disney song, i dont know what else to tag, i just think the song fits him, leona wants ruggie to be happy, ruggie sings "a dream is a wish your heart makes" from cinderella, ruggie sings while he works</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:22:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27451615</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merukuri/pseuds/Merukuri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruggie starts singing one day while he's organizing Leona's room, and the prince listens to him. He can't help but be annoyed by the melody, but why does it feel so nice at the same time?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leona Kingscholar/Ruggie Bucchi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A song of dreams and wishes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leona was about to fall asleep after playing chess by himself for an hour or so. He was laying down in his bed, the chess board at his side. The pieces fell down to his bed, and were all around the bedsheets. Leona was sure he had a pawn prickling his back, but he was too lazy to remove it. It didn't bother him that much, anyway. <em> You will wake up with back pain, </em> a voice in his mind said, <em>don't say I didn't warn you, Leona-san. </em>It was Ruggie's voice, of course. His voice was forever stored in this brain, and it was hard to forget or ignore. He was too used to hearing it everyday, and his snarky and nagging comments were already part of his routine; Leona thought he was almost already conditioned to follow Ruggie's biddings, just because it occurred so often.</p><p> </p><p>Leona growled. He was seriously going to listen to the imaginary Ruggie's demands. Leona was always reticent to admit anyone being right, but he really was not in the mood today to wake up with back pain. So, just for this time—as if there won't be numerous other instances in the future—he was going to follow Ruggie's advice. </p><p> </p><p>Leona raised his hand and was about to reach the chess piece that had sneaked under him, but then one of his ears twitched, and he immediately stopped. The lion caught a faint sound coming from the hallway outside. Leona stayed still for a few seconds trying to decipher the noise. He immediately thought about Ruggie, since he was the only person that came to his room regularly. His assumption was right when his ears recognized the distinctively furtive yet steady steps of the hyena, bringing with him the sound that was bugging him. Ruggie's typical high pitched voice was softer this time, almost rhythmic. This made him raise an eyebrow; <em>what was he saying? </em></p><p> </p><p>Leona felt the steps coming closer, now in front of his door. While getting closer to his room, Ruggie lowered the tone of his voice to a murmur. Leona felt annoyed by the buzzing sound, and if it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to know what Ruggie was saying, he would berate him for being so bothersome. So the lion put down his hand, got into a comfortable position, and feigned to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie opened the door and entered with soft steps. He closed the door behind him and started to walk around the room, probably picking up clothes from the floor, placing them apart to start folding and organize them for the next week of class. Ruggie kept his slight, rhythmic murmuring, which kept on irritating him. Suddenly, the hyena stopped. He stood still.  </p><p> </p><p>Leona kept his eyes closed, trying to look natural., breathing slowly. He felt Bucchi's eyes staring directly at him. What was he waiting for?</p><p> </p><p>And then, after a long minute of silence, Ruggie started to move again. Leona felt relieved. And annoyed. He wanted to stand up and shout at Ruggie for being so exasperating. Why the hell was he being so loud-</p><p> </p><p>"A dream… is a wish… your heart makes." </p><p> </p><p>Leona's heart stopped.</p><p> </p><p>"When you're fast asleep…" </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie was <em> singing? </em></p><p> </p><p>"In a dream, you will lose your heartaches…" He sounded so yearning, almost sweet. It was too unlike him. It made Leona feel… <em> weird,</em> irked. He was perplexed, but he couldn't bring himself to get up and interrupt this moment. "Whatever you wish for, you keep..." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie kept on walking around his room, picking up stuff and putting it in its place. He heard the steps coming his way, and then heard the sound of papers moving. Ruggie was probably fixing up his desk, or something related. And then, Leona felt Ruggie's presence closer than ever. He started tidying up his bed, or tried to as well as he could with his body laying on top of it. He noticed how he lowered his voice, in an intent to not disturb his sleep. </p><p> </p><p>"Have faith in your dreams, and someday," Ruggie sang while grabbing the chess pieces and the board. "Your rainbow will come smiling through." </p><p> </p><p>The lyrics were <em> so </em> sappy,<em> so </em> cloying. Where did Ruggie learn this song from? Did he have a liking for this type of music? And most importantly, why was he singing in the first place? He looked like those characters from a musical, breaking into song out of nowhere, just because they felt like it. </p><p> </p><p>He knew this behavior wasn't precisely new. He's seen some people in school humming by themselves or singing out loud even outside of music class. Why did people spontaneously sing? He was not very used to it, even after all these years staying here. While growing up in the palace, he wasn't surrounded by servants humming or singing at all. They would sing at festivities or parties, but those were the only instances. </p><p> </p><p>Then his mind showed the fluttering image of Cheka, sitting on his mom's lap. His sister in law was outgoing by nature, and this was clearly to be inherited by his nephew. The scene played in his mind, a memory from not so long ago: his sister in law with Cheka on her legs, sitting near a window and gazing at the night sky. She was brushing Cheka's hair with her hand, while singing a song about love and stars. <em> La la lu</em>, she hummed, and Cheka smiled brightly, starting to sing along her, <em> la la lu, oh my little star sweeper.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Leona remembers fleeing away from there instantly, irritated by the scene he just witnessed. He was not in the mood to deal with them and their overly sentimental moment. The overly sugary <em>lalalu </em>haunted him in his sleep that night. </p><p> </p><p>He remembers their smiles. Loving, happy smiles. Was this what they meant in music class when they referred to the theater rule of "<em>when the emotions are too strong for words, you sing</em>"?</p><p> </p><p>People sang when they were happy? </p><p> </p><p>(Were they really that different from canaries, mindless pets, at that point?)</p><p> </p><p>"No matter how your heart is grieving," Ruggie's sweet, soft voice reached his ears again, flowing like honey, "if you keep on believing… The dream that you wish will come true." </p><p> </p><p>Leona's heart started to beat faintly faster. He couldn't stop the annoying—and at the very same time, <em> pleasant—</em>sensation that started growing inside his chest. Melting like ice, like sugar. This was better than a canary. </p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>It has been a month. It has been a whole month. Yet Leona still seemed to tear apart his school uniform quicker each time. Ruggie frowned, <em> was he intentionally trying to break his own record or something?  </em></p><p> </p><p>It was so frustrating to fix Leona's clothes so often. At some point, they would have to straight up buy a new uniform that wouldn't look all patched, as this yellow vest was starting to look like. Ruggie's ears dropped. He sighed, reaching up his sewing kit and sitting on the floor at the side of Leona's bed, where he was sleeping, unsurprisingly. If it wasn't for that, he would have already chewed out Leona for his negligence. </p><p> </p><p>And even with that, Ruggie couldn't help but mumble some angry words under his breath.</p><p> </p><p>"What are you mumbling about?" </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie flinched at Leona's sudden comment. He turned around and saw Leona's face, <em> close. </em>He couldn't help but shriek. </p><p> </p><p>"W-Wah! L-Leona-san? I thought you were asleep?" Ruggie asked, moving away from the lion. The older man stared at him with his green, scrutinizing eyes. </p><p> </p><p>"I can't sleep when you are being so noisy, fuming for some reason." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie's mouth formed a big "O", and he frowned. </p><p> </p><p>"For <em> some </em>reason? I'm fixing your clothes, a month after you last damaged them! Tell me, why do you keep on losing buttons? And what is this hole under your pocket? The hems also need to be sewn again. I told you to--! E-Eh, Leona-san?" Ruggie stopped his rant when he felt the prince's hand, this time missing its usual black gloves, being placed on top of his head. Ruggie couldn't help but tremble a bit. His ears moved nervously after feeling the warmth of Leona's hand near them.</p><p> </p><p>They stayed like that for a few seconds—<em>very</em> long seconds, if you were to ask Ruggie. Leona wasn't looking at him; he was resting his head on his other hand, and had his eyes closed, with a mindless expression that just made Ruggie more confused. He was paralyzed, not knowing what the hand on top of his head even meant. He was supposed to stay still, right? This is how people grabbed others when they wanted them to stay put. Yet still, Ruggie squirmed a bit. He hoped that whatever Leona was intending, was not something bad-</p><p> </p><p>Leona's hand moved slowly down his head, his fingertips feeling the hyena's hair. Then he raised his hand again, placing them once more between his ears. There, Leona's hand kept on stroking his hair. </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie froze. His eyes were blank, and felt a tingle in his neck and the back of his head, where Leona previously touched him. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Leona was… petting him?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I'll raise your payment this month." Ruggie immediately unfroze and quickly turned his eyes to Leona, who was still with his eyes closed. "That will make you stop being so upset." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie opened his mouth, but closed it again shortly after. He couldn't bring himself to say any words, his brain finding it difficult to form an intelligible sentence. He was too astonished, too confused, and so weirdly hot in his head and chest.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>That's when Leona opened his eyes and looked at him directly, startling him. "If I do that, you will be happy." The phrase <em> per se </em> was an affirmation, but the way Leona delivered made it seem almost like a question.</p><p> </p><p>Ruggie analyzed Leona's stare, his face. He searched for any signs of a trick or a prank in his eyes. His first instinct was that Leona was toying with him, but with every second that passed, his heart only beat faster as a result. Seeing no signs of a stunt, only an honesty that Leona did not show very often—not even when they were alone together—made him feel weirdly vulnerable. How could he ignore this rare expression of sincerity?</p><p> </p><p>Ruggie gulped, feeling his face a little hot. </p><p> </p><p>"You…" he started, trying to keep the trembling from his voice. "You have to buy me donuts next time, too. Then, I'll stop being mad." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie found it difficult to ignore the gleam in Leona's eyes. "And you'll be happy?" </p><p> </p><p>The question sounded so childish. It felt so unnatural to hear it come from Leona's mouth. Ruggie couldn't help but giggle a bit. </p><p> </p><p>"Yes, I'll be happy." </p><p> </p><p>Leona closed his eyes and laid down on his bed again. His hand left Ruggie's head, leaving it unprotected from the cold wind of the night that entered through the window. Ruggie looked down at Leona's yellow vest, and then looked up again. </p><p> </p><p>"But Leona-san, why do you-"</p><p> </p><p>"Sing." </p><p> </p><p>The order was short and concise. Ruggie was left dumbfounded once more.</p><p> </p><p>"- what?" was the only thing that he could muster. Leona sighed, irritated.</p><p> </p><p>"I said I want you to sing."</p><p> </p><p>Now this was ridiculous. Ruggie frowned and his ears turned down.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, I heard that. But what I'm asking is- <em>why</em>?" </p><p> </p><p>Leona took several seconds to respond, looking a little bit troubled. This only made the hyena worry. Leona wasn't a man that could be easily left without words. This must be something very complicated and <em> important </em> to him, if he actually took the time to think about what to say. </p><p> </p><p>"People sing when they are happy." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie frowned slightly, staring at the prince. What was he talking about now? </p><p> </p><p>"... Leona-san, what do you want to come with this?" </p><p> </p><p>The prince turned his eyes to look at Ruggie. "Last weekend, when you left the notes from Trein's class on my desk and cleaned my room. You sang- you sang the whole time. It was some song about dreams and wishes."</p><p> </p><p>Leona looked mildly amused when Ruggie quickly turned bright red and covered his face with his hand. </p><p> </p><p>"You… you heard that…?" The second-year muttered. He curled up into a ball, trying to make his frame smaller and just hide from Leona's curious eyes. "This is so embarrassing. Please forget that happened. It's just- it's just an old song. It got stuck in my head, and…" </p><p> </p><p>Leona placed his hand on his head once again, making Ruggie shut up instantly. </p><p> </p><p>"I will squeeze your head like a grape if you tell anyone about this," The prince said with a low, grave voice. Ruggie flinched at this, but then Leona continued, with a gentler tone this time, "... But I enjoyed your singing. You sounded… content." </p><p> </p><p>Leona seemed like he wanted to add more, but he left it at that. Ruggie looked at him with big eyes, surprised. Then, a small giggle came out of him, and the prince felt obligated to look back at him. </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie was laughing with his cheeks still blushed. The mushy feeling in his chest appeared once again. It was so annoying (and yet <em>so</em> nice). The hyena smirked and looked at him with smug eyes. </p><p> </p><p>"You like seeing me happy, Leona-san?"</p><p> </p><p>Leona simply avoided his stare, closing his eyes while frowning.</p><p> </p><p>"That's not it, I just simply find it amusing. The same way you would find a canary." </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie laughed his typical <em> shishishi, </em>and closing his eyes, he said "Leona-san, you're not being honest at all." </p><p> </p><p>Leona growled and turned to his side, giving Ruggie his back. This made him snicker again. He looked down and decided to start fixing the lion's vest. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm in a better mood now. So, what do you want me to sing? The one from last time, or a new one?" </p><p> </p><p>Ruggie felt Leona's tail move restlessly from side to side on the bed, behind his neck. </p><p> </p><p>"Whatever you like. I don't care." </p><p> </p><p>The hyena smiled. Leona was back to his usual self. His salary was raised, and he was promised some donuts next time they'd go to the cafeteria. The tickling feeling, that never fully faded away from his neck and head, made him feel lightheaded. He knew that his face was still red, that Leona caught him last week doing something embarrassing, but right now he didn't care. Life was good, life was going well. </p><p> </p><p>He was a canary, and like birds and happy people did, he started to sing. </p><p> </p><p>"A dream is a wish your heart makes…" </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm a musical nerd and a Disney's films fan so the musical theater adage of "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing; (and when it becomes too strong for song, you dance)" had to be used at least once in this one shot with this specific thematic. I'm sorry </p><p>I was listening to "A dream is a wish your heart makes" and "Once upon a dream" and my romantic heart couldn't help but think about my ships, so I ended up writing this, haha. I kinda want to make another OS using Once Upon a Dream, but I'll see what I'll do. </p><p>Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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